Legislation that would temporarily freeze rents and ban evictions in Scotland has passed its first stage in the Scottish Parliament. MSPs backed the general principles of the Cost of Living (Tenant Protection) (Scotland) Bill by 88 votes to 29 on Tuesday evening.
Stage two amendments will be taken today, October 5, and a final vote will happen on Thursday. A motion to treat the Bill as emergency legislation was passed by 86 votes to 28 earlier on Tuesday.
The Scottish Tories voiced their opposition to the move, citing a lack of time for MSPs to properly understand the Bill - which was introduced and published on Monday evening. Meanwhile, Patrick Harvie, the Scottish Government’s tenants’ rights minister, also addressed concerns that the Bill would reduce the supply of rented housing.
